Contents
I. Existentialism — Parisa
Overview
Parisa survives a four-assassin ambush in a Manhattan hotel, then debriefs with Dalton about Society summons, Atlas’s leverage, and seizing control of the archives. A call from her estranged husband Nasser pulls her to Paris, but he fails to appear. Parisa refocuses on outmaneuvering Atlas by reaching Rhodes first.
Summary
Parisa arrives at a luxe Manhattan hotel and immediately senses four assassins. As music and lighting shift, she uses telepathy and improvisation to disarm and turn them against each other, killing the bartender and concierge with their own weapons and dispatching the bellhop and a maintenance man. Amid the chaos, she notes the Society’s indifference to protecting assets like her.
Upstairs, Dalton greets her. They discuss repeated Society summonses, Atlas’s likely methods, and Dalton’s pitch for Parisa to supplant Atlas as Caretaker to access the archives and start the multiverse experiment. Parisa weighs the necessary players (Dalton, Tristan, Rhodes, Nico, Reina) and the tactical stalemate with Atlas.
A voicemail and call from her estranged husband, Nasser, suggest he knows she’s in danger and asks to meet. Dalton, alternately supportive and needling, warns that anyone can trace Parisa through her past. Parisa, wrestling with fatigue, mortality, and old wounds, decides to go to Paris, postponing the Forum hunt.
Dalton replies to a physicist on her behalf and reiterates that Atlas will move quickly to secure Rhodes. Parisa resolves that reaching Rhodes first is key because Dalton’s creation power remains crucial. She and Dalton travel via Grand Central to Paris; Parisa arrives early at the café, but Nasser never appears, sharpening her suspicion that he, too, may be in danger.
Who Appears
- Parisa KamaliTelepathic protagonist; kills four assassins in a hotel, debates Society politics, calls estranged husband, and decides to reach Rhodes before Atlas.
- Dalton ElleryWorldmaker allied with Parisa; urges her to replace Atlas, manages Society communications, and travels with her to Paris.
- NasserParisa’s estranged husband; calls with concern and arranges a Paris meeting, then fails to appear.
- Atlas BlakelyCaretaker and rival; appears in Parisa’s recollections and strategies as the opposing force to outmaneuver.
- NothazaiForum leader; absent from a planned consulate meeting, indicating shifted priorities and complicating Parisa’s hunt.
- Assassins (hotel staff)Four attackers disguised as bellhop, bartender, concierge, and maintenance worker; all killed by Parisa.